


Transcience

by jinzou_enemy



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: ? pretty sure thats fitting yeah, Angst with a Happy Ending, Minor Character Death, lots of ocean imagery. he is literally by the ocean for this, there are slight allusions to suicidal thoughts but not like...super serious dw, this is pretty experimental
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-07-18
Packaged: 2020-07-07 22:17:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19858876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jinzou_enemy/pseuds/jinzou_enemy
Summary: Kaoru tends to find himself by the seaside, when the anniversary of her death swings around. This year is no different.





	Transcience

The water laps at his feet.

It’s cold.

He barely represses a shiver as the chill runs from his toes upwards. 

The sand isn’t warm or anything either; the heat from the sun long gone now, the view being the only pleasant thing. It doesn’t help that the water has sunken into the sand either, only amplifying the frigid temperature under his soles. 

He wiggles his toes a bit, to get the sensation back in them.

“This is why I prefer to surf in Summer,” he says aloud, to an audience that contains only himself. “Too troublesome, to deal with these sorts of temperatures with no one to impress,” 

The chuckle he lets out, at that, sounds forced even to himself. 

Zipping up his jacket a little further as a breeze rolls through, his eyes remain locked on the horizon.

Lingering oranges and reds spill over into the blue above him. He knows that, if he looks behind him, the sky will have already turned to a deep indigo, stars beginning to cautiously peek out from the blanket of night. 

The water’s surface is fairly still, beyond the breaking waves at the shore. Though not a perfect replica, the ocean still reflects onto itself the mural of colours stretching across the sky. 

Even without wind, the air around him still feels snap-cold, and he can feel the chill seeping through the layers he’s wearing. 

It makes him wonder why he’s even here in the first place, but the weight of the bouquet in his hand is a stark reminder. 

His spare hand goes up to fiddle with the pendant around his neck, almost absentmindedly.

The sound of crashing waves sweeps through his mind, almost as loud as the thoughts already contained within. 

His feet have long gone numb by now; his hands feel like they’re going to do the same, despite the gloves encasing them. 

It seems as good a time as any to go on his way, and he shakes the pins and needles from his limbs, putting his shoes on again. 

He takes his time, when he walks up the headland. There isn’t anywhere he needs to be after this, and he wouldn’t rush himself even if there was. The further up he gets, the more the wind claws at him, and he cradles the flowers against his chest to protect them. 

Reaching the top, he has to squint, spray from the sea hitting his face. “Even from all the way up here?” He muses. “I can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve seen waves reach these kinds of heights even without the help of a cliff face~” 

There’s no hesitance in him when he sits down at the edge.

The grass is slightly damp underneath him, and he can feel the frown that forms on his face.

Ah, this was a nice coat. He hopes that it won’t stain too badly. 

His legs dangle over the edge, but he can’t find it in himself to be afraid. Whether that’s because of a lack of fear or… something else, he doesn’t really know. He’s not sure he wants to know why. 

The wind is a lot stronger than it was on the shoreline. An offhanded thought drifts through his mind, as he continues to watch as the sun disappears beneath the horizon.

‘Good thing you’re not light, or you might’ve blown right off the edge and into the sea below.’ 

Despite himself, he lets out a genuine laugh. It has a hysterical tinge, but it’s better than the fake thing that left his throat earlier. 

His hand clenched tight around the bouquet. 

The last of the sun’s rays slip below the horizon. 

It felt an awful lot colder now. 

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Lazily, he takes it out. The screen feels piercingly bright to his eyes, which had gotten used to the darker hues he was now surrounded by.

Ah. A text from Koga. An additional four have come in by the time he’s unlocked his phone.

_Wan-chan_  
_hakaze-senpai_  
(5:13pm)

_Wan-chan_  
_me n adonis ended up staying overtime practicing so we ordered sum takeaway if u felt like coming back to have any_  
(5:14pm)

_Wan-chan_  
_sakuma-senpai is already here. weirdo had still been sleeping in his stupid coffin_  
(5:14pm)

_Wan-chan_  
_might wanna hurry ur ass over here tho bc if ur not fast enough it might all be gone by the time ur back_  
(5:15pm)

_Wan-chan_  
_u kno how adonis is, esp w/ meat_  
(5:15pm)

Despite himself, he can feel the heavy mood that had hovered over him begin to lift.

It doesn’t seem like the kind of thing that Koga would willingly send, so maybe Adonis suggested it? Regardless, an offer was an offer.

He weighs up the decisions in his head; to go back home, or back to his unit.

Honestly, the decision doesn’t take long to make. 

Getting up from the cliff edge, he places the bouquet gently, securing it with a couple rocks. The wind was still pretty strong, and though there was something symbolic in the flowers falling into the water; he’d rather they stay up here. 

“Well, I guess I better get going then. See you next year, Mum.”

Walking back down from the headland, the wind from behind almost feels like it’s pushing him forward.

**Author's Note:**

> kaoru's latest gacha story helped me finish this ,_, i hope you enjoyed this!! its a bit of an experiment for me, since i was trying out a slightly different style of writing. sorta.


End file.
